How it works:

How to setup your BIS (BlackBerry Internet Service) email:

Using the Web Browser:

Today is a great day for though in the UK! Vodafone has officially started delivering their BlackBerry Storm 9500 smartphones. Vodafone had sent out messages the other day confirming that customers would be receiving them, but today is delivery day! Head on over to Vodafone.co.uk/Storm if you haven’t already ordered yours.

Stay tuned as I’m sure the internet will get filled with tons of unboxing photos today…

Early this morning T-Mobile Germany and RIM announced the release of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 (formally known as Javelin). Available Mid-November, the Curve 8900 is the latest upgrade in the Curve series of smartphones. It features a large 2.4″ high resolution display, 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, enhanced media player with podcast support, EDGE, Wi-Fi, OS 4.6 and a thinner desig with full QWERTY keyboard.

The Curve 8900 will cost 359 Euros ($450 USD) with no contract or 4.95 Euros with 24 month contract. Now that T-Mobile Germany has announced this new Curve. Announcements from AT&T, Maybe T-Mobile USA? and Rogers can’t be too far behind.

Interesting enough in this announcement they didn’t make any comments to a newly re-designed trackball? Originally it was said that the Curve 8900 would launch with an Atomic trackball. I wonder if thats still a go?

RIM Press Release:

T-Mobile and RIM launch the new BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone in Germany
- Expansive feature set, striking 480×360 pixel display, 3.2MP Camera with autofocus, flash and video recording, enhanced media player with podcast support

- Thinnest full-QWERTZ BlackBerry smartphone

- Global connectivity with fast Internet access on broadly available EDGE and Wi-Fi networks

- Easy to use navigation with built-in GPS

BONN, GERMANY and WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire - Nov. 12, 2008) - T-Mobile Germany and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today launched the BlackBerry(R) Curve(TM) 8900 smartphone. The new BlackBerry Curve 8900 has an expansive feature set that keeps users easily connected with their office, friends and family. In addition to exceptional phone, email, messaging, organizer, web browser and multimedia applications, the new BlackBerry Curve 8900 also features global connectivity support, built-in Wi-Fi(R) and GPS, a fast processor (512Mhz) and a dazzling hi-resolution display, enabling customers to remain productive and entertained while on the go.

In a sleek and new style, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone from T-Mobile Germany has on-the-go video, text and maps, a full QWERTZ keyboard and an intuitive trackball navigation system that allows users to enjoy an exceptional communications experience. Its full-featured media player supports media streaming and can play all your favorite songs and videos. With its new 3.2 megapixel camera, including auto focus, digital zoom and flash, you can take sharp, print-quality pictures to capture the moment and immediately send them to a friend or post them on the Internet. The microSD/SDHC expandable memory slot supports up to 16GB, giving users plenty of storage that is easily interchangeable.

Enhanced web browsing and multimedia features

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is a quad-band smartphone, providing global connectivity that is compatible with T-Mobile’s nationwide EDGE network for fast data access and web browsing. The handset can be used in conjunction with T-Mobile’s web’n'walk plans for Internet browsing and accessing emails using BlackBerry(R) Internet Service and BlackBerry(R) Enterprise Server.

At approximately 110 grams and 109 x 60 x 13.5 millimeters, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 from T-Mobile Germany is the thinnest full QWERTZ BlackBerry smartphone to date and comes with a sleek and refined design that feels comfortable for either one-handed or two-handed use. Its large, striking 2.4 inch HVGA+ display (480×360 pixels) projects vivid color and makes information easier to read. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 provides flexible connectivity and helps people find their way, combining built-in Wi-Fi(R) (802.11 b/g) support and GPS capabilities.

E-Mail Push Service, free of charge for six months

T-Mobile Germany is currently offering a special promotion for customers who purchase the BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone and subscribe to BlackBerry(R) Internet Service with T-Mobile’s BlackBerry Webmail plan for individuals and small enterprises. The offer, which is initially limited until December 31, 2008, is available with many rate plans and is open to consumers and business customers who take out a new contract or extend an existing contract. For example, customers can currently try out T-Mobile’s BlackBerry Webmail S plan (which costs EUR 4.95 a month and includes a volume of one megabyte for six months) free of charge.

The BlackBerry(R) Curve(TM) 8900 smartphone will be available from T-Mobile Germany from mid of November 2008 and will cost a one-time charge of EUR 4.95 with a 24-month contract on the Relax 200 Plus rate with BlackBerry Webmail S and EUR 359.90 without contract.

Great news for those in the UK. Vodafone will be launching the BlackBerry Storm on November 14th! The good news is several UK sites have posted Storm video views (see here). Now if we could any get an official release date for Verizon, TELUS and Bell…

“We know customers are excited about the Storm and the early pre-orders really emphasise this. We continue to take orders and are excited that customers are responding so enthusiastically,” commented Ian Shepherd, consumer director, Vodafone UK. “Our customers told us that they wanted a single phone that would give them the most secure, reliable email and messaging experience possible combined with all the desirable smartphone features, and at a price that’s affordable. The BlackBerry Storm has delivered all of this and more and will give our customers incredible power in their hands to make the most of now.”

The highly anticipated Blackberry® Storm 9500, the first ever touch-screen BlackBerry smartphone, purpose built exclusively for Vodafone, will be available to buy from 14th November. Available on a range of high value price-plans, the device offers consumers and business customers easy access to voice and email, a range of social media applications, multimedia content, satellite navigation and many other services on the move.

Customers who want to be the first in the UK to have a BlackBerry Storm can pre-order in Vodafone stores, online at www.vodafone.co.uk/storm and telesales, and account managers for our business customers from November 14. It will also be available for sale through Vodafone’s retail partner Phones 4U in store and online.

“We know customers are excited about the Storm and the early pre-orders really emphasise this. We continue to take orders and are excited that customers are responding so enthusiastically,” commented Ian Shepherd, consumer director, Vodafone UK. “Our customers told us that they wanted a single phone that would give them the most secure, reliable email and messaging experience possible combined with all the desirable smartphone features, and at a price that’s affordable. The BlackBerry Storm has delivered all of this and more and will give our customers incredible power in their hands to make the most of now.”

One of the first reviews has been carried out by the Gadget Show’s, Jason Bradbury.

Ian Shepherd, Consumer Director, Vodafone UK comments on the BlackBerry Storm.

Download full product specifications (PDF 96kb).

The BlackBerry Storm pricing starts from free on a two year contract at £35 per month on a Best for Text plan that will include 600 minutes and unlimited texts*. Go to www.vodafone.co.uk/storm for more information on pre-order, pricing and full specifications.

Notes to editors:

*subject to fair usage of 3,000 texts a month, see www.vodafone.co.uk for additional pricing details

T3 first posted an unboxing of the Vodafone branded BlackBerry Storm 9500, and now its time for the full on video review. They really liked the Storm and had time to show off Vodafone’s App Center and exactly how the Surepress display works. Their headline “Storm blows T3 away”.

Next up Stuff.tv known for their popular Stuff electronics magazine in the UK has also got then their hands on a Vodafone Storm. You can check out their full video review as well and see what you think.

Another video has arrived. This time from Megawhat:

Hopefully by now you aren’t getting sick of all the Storm news. Personally I just want to get my hands on one.

Vodafone has revealed pricing for RIM’s first touch screen BlackBerry smartphone. The Storm itself will retail for €109.99 and plans range from €49.99 to €99.99. It appears that Vodafone will have the Storm 9500 ready some time next month… Check out Vodafone’s Storm pricing:

Under the Perfect Choice Access 100 plan, the Storm handset will retail for €109.99 and will cost €49.99 a month as part of a bundle that will include 100 minutes, 100 texts, 1GB of BlackBerry email, mobile TV and 10 full-track music downloads.

Under the Perfect Choice Access 200 plan, the Storm handset will retail for €64.99 and will cost €64.99 a month as part of a bundle that will include 200 minutes, 200 texts, 1GB of BlackBerry email, mobile TV and 10 full-track music downloads.

Under the Perfect Choice Access 400 plan, the Storm handset will retail for €69.99 and will cost €84.99 a month as part of a bundle that will include 400 minutes, 400 texts, 1GB of BlackBerry email, mobile TV and 10 full-track music downloads.

And under the Perfect Choice Access 600 plan, the Storm handset will retail for €49.99 and will cost €99.99 a month as part of a bundle that will include 600 minutes, 600 texts, 1GB of BlackBerry email, mobile TV and 10 full-track music downloads.

According to Vodafone, a number of free options for calls, texts and landline minutes will accompany the Perfect Choice Access 200, 400 and 600 price plans, whereby purchasers can choose between 100, 200 and 400 calls and texts or 100, 200 and 400 landline minutes respectively.

Additional call charges that will be applied to the pricing plans if users go beyond their package allocation will range between 18 cent and 30 cent, 11 cent per text message, €2 per megabyte of BlackBerry email and 2 cent per kilobyte of Vodafone Live.

[Source]

NII Holdings has announced they will bring RIM’s new PTT enabled BlackBerry Curve 8350i to Latin America in 2009. In case you forget the Curve 8350i is the new iDEN smartphone that will be seen soon on the Sprint-Nextel network. It features a durable body with 2.0 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi and OS 4.6. Skip over for the press release.

RIM Press Release:

NII Holdings and Research In Motion to Launch New BlackBerry Smartphone with Industry-Leading Push-to-Talk Service in Latin America
The powerful and feature-rich BlackBerry Curve 8350i will enable NII subscribers in Latin America to communicate instantly

RESTON, VIRGINIA and WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire - Oct. 27, 2008) - NII Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:NIHD) and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today announced that Nextel Argentina, Nextel Brazil, Nextel Mexico and Nextel Peru will launch the BlackBerry(R) Curve(TM) 8350i smartphone during the first quarter of 2009. The BlackBerry(R) Curve(TM) 8350i will be the first smartphone in Latin America to offer the industry-leading Push-to-Talk (PTT) service, International Direct Connect (IDC) and Wi-Fi(R) capability, making it a powerful and flexible wireless solution for the mobile business user.

The BlackBerry(R) Curve(TM) 8350i smartphone and the industry-leading Push-to-Talk service will provide one-touch, instant and effective communication between NII subscribers in their home markets and with over 10 million iDEN subscribers in North and South America. In addition to enabling seamless access to personal and corporate email, the BlackBerry 8350i will also come with built-in Wi-Fi, a 2-megapixel camera, an internal antenna and a host of other features to help subscribers in Latin America push their business to new heights.

“Our high-value customers in Latin America demand high-performance wireless solutions that enable them to stay ahead of the game with enhanced productivity and flexibility,” said Greg Santoro, chief marketing and strategy officer, NII Holdings. “This powerful and feature-rich smartphone is a push for performance solution that combines the power of Push-To-Talk with the BlackBerry platform’s popular features. It will be the must-have handset for subscribers who need flawless instant communication tools to extend the reach of their business.”

“The BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone will offer customers an exceptional communications experience together with the popular push-to-talk service from NII Holdings,” said Mark Guibert, vice president of corporate marketing at RIM. “We are pleased to build on our successful relationship with NII Holdings in bringing this feature-rich smartphone to customers in Latin America.”

The BlackBerry(R) Curve(TM) 8350i smartphone is designed to deliver the features and services every team needs-day-to-day and year-over-year. Combining BlackBerry(R) data services such as email, messaging, organizer and Internet access with the immediate connectivity of Push-to-Talk, this new smartphone will help teams accomplish tasks and goals more effectively-saving both money and time.

With an eye toward productivity and to facilitate adoption, the BlackBerry(R) Curve(TM) 8350i smartphone is designed to easily integrate into the IT networks of organizations that use the BlackBerry(R) Enterprise Solution to address key business requirements such as:

- Centralized management and support for IT departments with wireless IT policies

- Advanced security features like AES and Triple DES encryption and password protection

- Business grade functionality that further supports communication and collaboration.

The BlackBerry(R) Curve(TM) 8350i is designed to deliver the file storage space the working world requires. In addition to its 128-MB of onboard memory, the smartphone will accept microSD/SDHC cards for up to 16 GB of storage. Users will be able to store spreadsheets, images or pictures, and with the preloaded DataViz(R) Documents to Go(R) software users will be able to edit Microsoft(R) Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents directly on the smartphone, making them more productive and prepared wherever they go.

The BlackBerry(R) Curve(TM) 8350i smartphone will also feature built-in Global Positioning System (GPS). When used with BlackBerry(R) Maps or other location-based applications and services workers can access turn-by-turn directions and other navigation features so they can keep moving in the right direction.

About NII Holdings, Inc.

NII Holdings, Inc., a publicly held company based in Reston, Va., is a leading provider of mobile communications for business customers in Latin America. NII Holdings, Inc. has operations in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile offering a fully integrated wireless communications tool with digital cellular voice services, data services, wireless Internet access and Direct Connect and International Direct Connect(TM) a digital two-way radio feature. NII Holdings, Inc., a Fortune 1000 company, trades on the NASDAQ market under the symbol NIHD and is a member of the NASDAQ 100 Index. Visit the Company’s website at http://www.nii.com.

Nextel, the Nextel logo, Nextel Online, Nextel Business Networks and Nextel Direct Connect are trademarks and/or service marks of Nextel Communications, Inc.

About Research In Motion (RIM)

Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data. RIM’s portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry(R) wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld(TM) product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (NASDAQ:RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

Forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used herein, words such as “intend” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions made by and information available to Research In Motion Limited. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, possible product defects and product liability, risks related to international sales and potential foreign currency exchange fluctuations, the initiation or outcome of litigation, acts or potential acts of terrorism, international conflicts, significant fluctuations of quarterly operating results, changes in Canadian and foreign laws and regulations, continued acceptance of RIM’s products, increased levels of competition, technological changes and the successful development of new products, dependence on third-party networks to provide services, dependence on intellectual property rights, and other risks and factors detailed from time to time in RIM’s periodic reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and other regulatory authorities. RIM has no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. RIM, Research In Motion and BlackBerry are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be pending or registered in other countries. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. RIM assumes no obligations or liability and makes no representation, warranty, endorsement or guarantee in relation to any aspect of any third party products or services.

[Via BBNews]

It is rumored that UK cell carrier Orange has dropped the BlackBerry Bold from their lineup due to quailty issues. Apparently there is a internal memo floating around stating that they will not continue to offer RIM’s Bold until RIM has fixed the known issues with it. Maybe they are getting a bouncing 3G signal as well? Cause as you may know AT&T still has not released the device in the United States due to extensive testing…

[Source]